Round 12 Drink of choice – Balvenie 17 Double Wood (shoutout to Jack for the recommendation!)
Has there ever been a more bitter completion to a match in which the Eels have almost completely dominated? The final ten minutes of play in our victory over the Rabbitohs featured an eighteen point swing in differential as the referees intervened in two crucial moments to give South Sydney an outrageous chance at taking the game into golden point. In doing so the officials managed to completely steal the spotlight off a number of excellent individual performances for the Eels – so let’s reward those efforts with some acknowledgement before we take the whistle-blowers to task.
Alvaro just another shade of Brown
There was plenty of understandable trepidation from fans when our best forward, nay our best player, in Nathan Brown succumbed to a rib injury this week. In a pack that has genuinely struggled for consistency through 2017, Brown has been a titanic presence through the ruck and his loss stood to be catastrophic for the Eels. Daniel Alvaro thought otherwise I guess.
Alvaro was part of a major reshuffle in the ruck to kick off as he and Siosaia Vave joined Tim Mannah in the starting middle rotation and boy did he take advantage of a rare starting berth. Via our companions at Champion Data he pulled down 16 runs for 148m at a very respectable 9.13m per carry and 31 tackles with just 1 missed all from 44min. It really speaks to the industrious performance he turned out. NRL.com also has him pegged as breaking a lone tackle but on first view of the game it felt like Alvaro was quite adept at slipping through initial tackle attempts and forcing lateral tackles from defenders.
It raises the best sort of selection drama for the Eels – one that features good form. There is a good chance that the Eels will be without Brown for at least another week and thus can field the same front three but once he is back who misses out? Who would you be starting? More importantly, who does BA start? If Alvaro can carry this form through the coming rounds then the Eels might finally be able to build a real platform through the ruck. Fingers crossed!
Kaysa Pritchard shines in reduced role
While Nathan Brown has provided relief work for Kaysa Pritchard earlier in the season, Round 12 marked the first time the Eels have specifically carried a backup for our young #1 rake. Will Smith was quietly successful in his new found role and was sensationally robbed of a try late in the game but the real story here is that with Smith on the bench, Kaysa was able to properly pace himself for perhaps the first time this year.
He didn’t over-commit on kick chases. His service didn’t drop off a cliff as fatigue kicked in. He wasn’t caught flat-footed in the defensive line. He did knock Sam Burgess on his arse. Twice. There was also the heroic chase he gave on Angus Crichton and the amazing lead up work in a near try he produced by running the middle before whiffing on the pass inside to Mitchell Moses. He was ever present around his forwards for when they offloaded and the Bunnies nearly paid for it through the game.
This is exactly the type of performance that Kaysa Pritchard needs to consolidate on. He didn’t overplay his hand in defence and he really hit a sweet tempo when we were in possession. Kudos to both he and BA for the inspired game-day performance and roster-move.
Dramas now behind them, Moses and Radradra stand tall
Mitchell Moses certainly built on the solid debut he made last round! With an extra week of field work with his new team-mates Moses had our right-edge humming and showed the ability to rapidly switch play behind the ruck to catch out the back three of the Rabbitohs. He was also desperately unlucky not to have scored his maiden try for the Eels when Kaysa Pritchard spun himself into a tizz trying to link up with Moses. The body of work Moses produced in the first half stands as testament as to why Brad Arthur recruited the young half so aggressively. With a rumoured Corey Norman return perhaps closer than initially projected (as per Brad Arthur on Triple M on Saturday), the Eels could find themselves fielding a full-strength spine in the near future. Yes please.
While he did lay the ground work for Josh Hoffman’s ridiculous match-sealing try, there is no doubt that Moses produced a more subdued second half effort following a blow to his hip pointer. To his credit he toughed it out and showed the sort of grit that BA covets in his players.
Semi Radradra is back. It has been a long time coming and follows a difficult period of personal strife that engulfed his life off the field. Radradra was highly effective against the Canberra Raiders in attack last week but a late defensive lapse saw Jordan Rapana cross down his edge for the match-winner. His effort this week was much more well rounded and while there wasn’t any flash or pizzazz as he reunited with Brad Takairangi, nor did the Rabbitohs trouble them on the scoreboard.
Semi churned out 188m from just 13 runs and made a single line-break but proved to be a constant menace to the defensive line with his ability to skip outside lead defenders. It wasn’t a flawless showing with Hymel Hunt dispossessing him of the ball in savvy strip that lead directly to the Crichton try. Still, the signs were overwhelmingly positive and it is fantastic to finally have ‘Bula’ back.
Costly errors from Kenny Edwards
I think it is safe to say that Edwards is something of a fan-favourite these days. He has added plenty of impact and energy from the bench for the Eels since serving a lengthy suspension for a domestic incident earlier this year.
Yesterday was not his finest outing.
Two really poor errors in our own red zone gifted South Sydney opportunities that they had no right to have. This time around the Eels might have coasted (relatively speaking and before referee intervention) to the win but these sort of turnovers have been the bane of our season in 2017.
Kenny is a dynamic player and a real luxury to have off the bench. His eight tackle breaks on Friday night show just how much he can torment defenders with his size, agility and explosiveness but his occasional ill-discipline can hurt the team. Love the energy, just channel it a little bit better Kenny.
Officials, Bunker let the game down
I don’t want to waste too many words here as Parra fans will have vented and cursed their way through the 24-hours following the game but the final ten minutes of play spoiled what should have been a victory to honestly celebrate.
The forward pass call on the Will Smith no-try was a terrible call but perhaps possible to overlook – even though it directly led to a 12-point swing with Alex Johnston scoring from the resultant scrum.
Alex Johnston’s second try showed a complete failure in the system and highlighted why even good concepts like the ‘Bunker’ can be waylaid by poor staffers. The fact that the ‘Bunker’ deemed there to be insufficient evidence to overturn an on-field ruling of try is troubling to say the least. Are we really watching the same game? This isn’t the first time there has been a catastrophic breakdown from the ‘Bunker’ this year. South Sydney themselves famously wore a disgraceful decision against the Brisbane Broncos when Anthony Milford was somehow not deemed to be held up in the lead up to a try from Moses Pangai I believe.
Where is the accountability? How are such fundamental errors being made with the benefit of the technology in play?
Add to all of that the fact that the Eels lost the penalty count 10-5 in a game where they completely dominated the ruck and it makes for a frustrating feeling to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, on my first viewing of the game I don’t think I can pin-point a penalty against us where I would call it unjust…rather it feels like the ruck is not policed evenly in our games. We wear legitimate penalties while our opposition are allowed press beyond the same limits imposed on the Eels by the whistle-blowers.
A raise of my glass and a tip of my head this week to – Kaysa Pritchard
As I have already mentioned above, Kaysa Pritchard turned in a mighty fine performance this week. The young hooker has drawn plenty of flak this year – from myself included – but if he is capable of producing this sort of effort consistently then there won’t be any critics to silence, just a raft of rapturous fans.
A dishonourable mention for workplace incompetence to – Grant Atkins & Ashley Klein
A well and truly deserved gong this week. Disgraceful, embarrassing and worrisome – name it what you will. The self-serving narrative used to cover the ineptness of the officiating display in which the Rabbitohs apparently made an amazing comeback (Eels hold off fast-finishing Bunnies / NRL Match Highlights) also troubles me. Sometimes you just need to call a spade a spade. The NRL has issued several apologies for bad decisions by officials this year, why the radio silence now?
Brad Arthur has always been measured in his approach to the officials – choosing to lay the onus on himself and his players in public channels and choosing to pursue discourse with the NRL in private. Taking the high ground was important for the development of the team in the formative years of Brad Arthur’s tenure but perhaps it is time to take off the gloves.
Thanks for stopping by for another weekly installment of Whiskey Musings! As always, feel free to drop a line on your thoughts from the victory. Keep an eye out for the second episode of The Film Room in which we will take a look at how Tepai Moeroa is enjoying having Mitch Moses inside him (phrasing!) and the multi-faceted role he plays in this team.
Thanks again forty for some excellent work….gee the league needs to recognize that they need a better system for overcoming the howlers and as you so rightly point out last nights errors are not just unfortunate….they reflect doubtful levels of competence. Just a note on Edwards….The fact that he tries to referee the game as well as play it suggests that it is time BA intervenes before Kenny’s mindset undoes any good work his 16 team mates do !
Young Daniel (polar bear) Alvaro this kid is a very good football player.
Tough , robust n versatile player I like what I’m seeing from this kid.
I like most were shocked to see him start at lock but he stood tall n did a good job.
On Kaysa Pritchard what I mighty game the little fella had. His shot’s on Sam burgess were good. His chase on That souths player was outstanding even though souths scored shows that he won’t give up. I like that in a player.
On semi good to see him back to his best good running metres yet again n nice try to cap of a good night.
On the refs. We’re do I start … Another disapointing game from them n the bunker. Ppl will say parra bombed that try will smith scored. The refs need to go back n review the game. At this rate they will stuff up the big dance with these calls.
We are still a long way from a full strength team but there was a lot to like about last nights game. The emergence of Alvaro as a starting forward, The improvement of Pritchard by not having to play 80 minutes and to me the acquisition of Moses is well and truly proving itself to be astute recruiting by BA.
That is the best game that Tep has had in some time and a lot, especially the first try, can be attributed to having Moses there as a playmaker.
The refereeing was atrocious last night and it was all anybody wanted to talk about leaving the game at the end.
Last season all every journo wanted to talk about was the Eels. Christian Nicolussi covered the game for the DT last night and there was no mention of any of the refereeing howlers. In fact the report was so short on commentary from the game it looked like a “cut and paste” from another game. I wonder if he was even at the game.
There are some on the other site that are still rubbishing the effort against the bunnies, especially as the bunnies are not a top line team. Thing is to me Souths are having problems in many areas that I suggest may well be off field drama’s one report had it they are missing GI too much as he would have added more to the team, yet when I look over the two teams that took the field last night I would ask how many of the eels squad compared to the bunnies squad have represented in higher games, such as SOO, and internationals?
I realise that just because you have rep players in your team it does not mean you are above others but surely it adds a greater level in experience for those that have played in those levels.
For me, two of the bunnies players shone out and they were Angus Crighton, a basic unknown that has a great future, and the other is Sam Burgess, he took it all and never stopped trying, Sam however lets his game down by cheap shots and not always caught out though.
As for the drinks, glad to have a stone brewed ginger beer to draw in quality for a team lifting in their quality as well.
Some on the other site never graduated from playing their sisters in the backyard. There’s very few of the knockers that have any real knowledge. Most just follow the pack.
There has been a bit of tension between 1EE and TCT recently with tempers flaring up on both sides. Let’s not pour any fuel on a fire that doesn’t need to be lit in the first place.
1EE is an open forum which comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses for discourse about the Eels, just as TCT is a curated site that has pros and cons for the legion of Blue & Gold fans on the web.
Agreed Forty20 that’s why names were not mentioned. As with any view expressed here or another forum you have to take into account the background, past utterances and perceived agenda of the poster.
Hope you’re enjoying the dram my friend, I watched the game again today and enjoyed it just as much as last night.
Huge props to kaysa, great service, foresight and commitment was his best game so far.
I loved that brad Brough some punch to the starting side. Alvaro brought his best. Vave I think was solid without being exceptional, he works best off the bench. But I think Matagi did well from the bench in his place.
Beau was menacing and moses really Impressed me.
Manu, tep and gutho were awesome and the whole team did excellent. Still lapses in the game but dispite fighting poor refs and bunker calls we made our own luck and hung in for the win.
Wrapped that everyone got to enjoy the win.
I had the kavalan port cask last night! Give that one ago forty!
The referees gave Souths every opportunity to win last night but they were too poor to comply. In addition to the 2 obvious errors mentioned at least twice Parra were penalised incorrectly for offside. In one instance Freddy mentioned it on TV and the second was in the 38 min and Souths pressing our line. I had match recorded and there was a wide shot and Parra all back on the try line.
Honestly there needs to be an enquiry into the refs, did they have their money on Souths to win?
On this count I totally agree, there is absolutely no standard with the refs that can be deemed as being positive. Just watched the Canberra – Chooks game, and the same there, Perranara should be deported back to the ditch, not across it. Chooks, were against the ball most of the game, hard for 13 man teams to play against 14, with the no numbered man on the other side can control the game whichever way they want.
That’s Henry Hartley
Just a bit off topic. The Sunday Tele reports that Bulldogs 2nd rower Adam Elliot is being chased by both Newcastle and the Eels. Mail is he will either go to the Eels or stay at the dogs.
He is only a young fellow, turns 23 at the end of the year. Has played 12 games this year and for the last half dozen is playing the full 80 minutes. Last night he made 17 runs for 107 metres and made 41 tackles.
He is 185 Cm and 103 Kg’s. I had not heard this reported before
I think Fox Sports might have linked us to Elliot a short while back in their Market Watch columns. Don’t mind Elliot as a pickup. Good, rugged backrower with a surprising bit of skill.
Just to add to Forty’s comments, he’s a very whole-hearted player as well. I have a close friend who is a sponsor of the Bulldogs and part of his corporate package gives him pretty good access to players at exclusive club events – he tells me Elliot is a massive clubman, as good off the field as he is on it and just a real effort player and person. From what he told me it sounded as though it’s Elliot’s preference is to stay at the Bulldogs, but if we nabbed him it would be a great get. He wouldn’t cost the bank, incredibly strong defender and his attack is coming along nicely – definitely in the Brad Arthur ilk of forwards with his build, defensive tenacity and skill set.
According to Barry Toohey the Eels have made the biggest offer. Sounds like they are serious
By the way the stats above are from NRL.com
Some really smart tactical decisions from Brad Arthur on Friday night. Our backrowers and Alvaro were tremendous. Kaysa produced some high quality minutes and efforts and it’s the type of performance he’ll get a lot of confidence out of moving forward. His combination with Moses at junior level will have a chance to shine on the big stage over the next few weeks.
I hope there is the intention of having a player, whether it’s Will Smith or someone else, to give him Kaysa a spell, he and the team greatly benefited from his reduced minutes and I think it will lead to more quality from him moving forward being given the opportunity to play all out instead of pacing himself over 80.
Clint I agree with your comments about BA’s tactical move. It was very clever and worked a treat. There were some on the other site who picked the Smith move but nobody picked Alvaro starting at lock.
Having said that I assume that there were some here at TCT who were aware that it was going to happen. I have always liked Alvaro he has a good motor and works hard. He may never play SOO but he is a good club man and I am glad that he is at the Eels
True John. Keeping our trap shut on such matters.
Wasn’t it good to see how the team responded to Brad’s shuffling – it has been a while coming. As noted by Forty, the Eels played with purpose for 70 minutes, that is better than the 40-60 mins we’ve seen from them recently. And with players to come back to the squad we have a little bit of momentum, happy days.
Fair summation of the game , do the ref’s make bad calls every week yes they do. Will whinging and whining about it accomplish anything absolutely not !!.
Maybe I’m wrong but when TCT started both this & 1 Eyed Eel sites offered comment & opinion on our footy team. TCT have always offered a pure footy perspective which is great. I would encourage all posters here to continue to do so. If your thoughts / opinions are on topics or individuals are not what this site is intended for then maybe just take it to 1 Eyed Eel. There’s always plenty of punters on there to challenge you with opinion.
Both sites can coexist witout the BS!!!!.
Thanks JJ and spot on about the two sites. As a massive NFL (and Seahawks fan) I know there is definitely space for two (or three counting LU) such sites (curated vs open forum) when it comes to a team with such a large fan base.
As for the refs, fans whinging about their efforts is an age old occurrence in any sport but it feels like the standard of officiating has really slipped in 2017 – especially for calls based on replays in the ‘Bunker’. There isn’t a conspiracy against the Eels here. Plenty of teams are copping abysmal calls!
That was a good interview by Andrew Moore. We do not see a lot of that. Clearly Andrew watched the game and posed some good questions. He is the first commentator I have seen who questioned the poor refereeing decisions post the game.
Well said. It’s a shame the Will Smith try which was off the back of a fantastic kick return from Hoffman is now see as an error instead of a Great Try. On the replay it showed without any doubt the pass was not forward. The last rabbits try was a knock on & the bunker once again proved it is nothing more than a $2,000,000.00 mistake. Thankfully it didn’t cost us the game, but I guess you can’t expect the NRL to fix the issues with the refs as they can’t seem to get anything they do right.
P.S. Kenny Edwards really needs to pull his head in. We need footy player’s, Not clowns.
He has continuously put the team under pressure every week & it is driving me insane because he can be great.
I love Whiskey Musings, or is it just the Whiskey. Sitting here right now sipping on a cheap one. My boys bought me some expensive and magnificent whiskeys from Glenmorangie and Ardbeg that didn’t last as long as they should have, and now that I have to buy my own I’ve gone down the cheap road. Still gives me the same headache. Anyway once again a top report Forty, so thanks to you, Sixties, Mitch and all the TCT team for your wholehearted support for the Eels and all of us supporters. Forty you have previously explained how much we have missed Degois, and I am sure most everyone has the same opinion i.e. his line speed and perfect low tackling technique saved our defensive line from using so much energy in the wrestle. This enabled the Eels to be in the fight right to the end of the game. Degois, Gower, Alvaro, Terepo, Wicks were all part of those great fight-to-the-end contests (only Alvaro in there at the moment). On Daniel, he has played very well for the limited game time he has had. His hit ups have been okay, nothing lacking there, but his defense has been outstanding, especially around the legs, (Tepai and Daniel very similar styles). On Kaysa, what a gutsy little player he is. I have posted before about attitude (U20’s, Mahoney, Afuola, Stone) and Kaysa is the perfect example of a never give up attitude. Sixties has reported more than once about Kaysa’s training attitude and he hasn’t exaggerated. If any of us were coaching the Eels NRL team, Kaysa and Guth would have to be the first selected. If I were to highlight a “problem” Kaysa might have it would be his desire to not be the weak link of the team. He doesn’t want to let his teammates, his coach,and the club down (for showing faith in him) so he tries to help them at every opportunity…..I can only admire him all the more for his gutsy team first attitude. I hope we don’t chase a long term hooker and risk losing Reed Mahoney because I believe he can be an outstanding NRL player. He has the same boundless energy and attitude as Kaysa. He is a defender in the same mould as Degois, a support player ala Guth, a thinker, and also possesses a very strong passing game, both sides of his body. If Kaysa continues to develop his game and Reed continues to develop physically then we could have a very good hooker rotation (Reed is good enough to play in the halves). I know, big ifs because both are young, but interesting to try to look ahead and see what/who develops. Cheers, Trev.
Trevor, what a great post. I have not seen Mahoney but hearing more and more about his game and all being very positive, so hopefully the eels will have another hooker from the junior brigade.
The ball in the head for Kaysa on Friday night meant he had to go to the HIA, and it gave him a 30 minute spell right in the middle of the game, he game out totally fresh for the second dig, maybe opposition teams need to watch where he is when kicking to avoid making him aggro.
I have said and wonder if the part that also helped Kaysa is that he and Moses played together in their early junior days, and likely the reunion built up some confidence in him as he they were able to rejoin their early days association.
Thanks Col. Yeah Mahoney is a real jack-in-the-box, quick like Kaysa but with additional skills, just hope he gets a bit bigger. Kaysa certainly benefited from the enforced rest and Smith didn’t let the team down when he came on. On Smith, you can see he isn’t back to top speed yet after his injury, but he still has enough speed to be a worry to tiring defences. It does look promising regarding Kaysa and Mitch, plus add Tepai to the equation and we might just see some entertaining attack on that side.